Welcome to Gaia! ::

He worried that the red-haired captain, or any other for that matter, might take advantage again of the simplicity of trees, benches and passers-by that the parks in evening afforded. Even just sitting, they could have their will without drawing attention. So her returned as often as he could for quick run-by's through the parks on his way to jog past each of the schools.

So far there were no ill power signatures running through the back of his awareness. He kept going.

Past the third bench, over some hedges and through tangles of mountain laurel, and then-
He felt another power, just at the edges of his sense. It wasn't chaos. What was it even? It didn't feel the same as Aquarius', so it wasn't one of 'the Guard'. It wasn't a sailor scout. It wasn't a cat. It was curious, despite that.

He paused for a brief count of breaths, then made directly for the signature, only slowing when he was closing near it to look around for the source as he jogged. He stopped and stood under the flickering of a park lamp as it dimly fought to light in the autumn evening. Like as not there are plenty of things that wander the night. Though this one feels clean. Whom is the bearer of this candle in the dark?

It looked like it was a woman, and very, very much a presence in pink. Is it legal to wear that much pink out in public if it isn't the 1700s? Didn't it used to associate as romanticism and seduction? How suggestive. She certainly looks ready for the court of the Sun King with all those ruffles.

But with squirreled out cheeks and a posture that looked a little uncertain, or pained, or hurried- Thraen wasn't really sure, the woman didn't seem to pose a very provocative demeanor. Maybe she was just unlucky with the rest of them. Hopefully she liked the colour she was doomed to wear so very much of. Thraen lifted his hand in return and slowed to trot and walk to approach, giving her a moment to collect herself. There was a distinct scent of....hot dog.

I have to admit, I'm a bit jealous. A hot dog would be really nice right now.

"Well met. ..I'd never felt...someone with your signature, so I thought to check out who or what I'd come across. I'm Sailor Thraen, " He held out his hand- since he was the one coming on her unawares, it seemed, it was only polite to start with an introduction. Especially since he was interrupting a lady's meal, hot dog or not, "I didn't mean to rush you."

Aventine?
Thraen offered a casual smile to hopefully indicate it was a polite joke, "You look more of Versailles than Rome."

"That's near the Circus Maximus, isn't it? And has the Rome Rose Garden. ...well, here at least." On Earth. She said she's a 'of Venus', so is she supposed to be from Venus the way I'm supposed to be from a tiny rock in the asteroid belt?

"I've been around since...near Valentine's...eight months or so. But...no, I've not met a knight. I heard of them from the primer and Eternal Athene. He suggested if I wanted to learn about them I should look for Camelot. But so far as I know, Arthurian scholars have been looking for Camelot for centuries without any luck, so what were my chances? I've been to Rome, though. Back in High School. "

"The knights, ....or...squires?... protect against the Negaverse and the Mirror as well? Are you squired to another knight then?" He looked around in case some armored woman like Joan of Arc on a charger was going to come out of nowhere with a lance and brain him for harassing her squire.

"Ah..Well, “ How to explain without giving too much away? "I study. A lot. Roman culture, architecture and Art, and most of the Mediterranean for that matter, has been a big part of that. To the point of a whole summer vacation spent there. "

The sheer amount of stonework decorative and otherwise had been exhaustive, in a good way, for him. It had made leaps of progress happen in his own sculpture, to have spent the time effort and energy, and he could hardly forget the experience. Maybe someday, if there was an end to the nightmare, he'd be able to go abroad again to study Dark Age woodcarving, gothic art, or Shinto statuary. It was all engrossing, or it used to be, before much of his time was taken up by the second life they all shared. He offered the last to hopefully set her at ease, “We’re all a work in progress.”
It was a little sad that their titles weren’t actually related to a mentorship system- it would have put them in better standing than the senshi sink-or-swim system. Another thing to share? “Last I knew he was well. It haven’t seen him in a long while.”

Hopefully the other senshi wouldn’t mind being called ‘precious’ in the diminutive sense. Thraen wouldn’t offer it if he saw the senshi of beads again. The description of Camelot was welcome though- something more definite to go off of instead of following the Python example and finding himself a patsy and some coconuts. “Is there a ruler of Venus that you serve directly? Or of Earth? That would be helpful…Since for our own, there’s no actual White Moon Court, for as often as it’s referred to. ”

The senshi of Gardens had grave suspicions that the answer was negative- if there was no manual and she was talking about a somewhat lack of direction- there probably wasn’t a present directing force for either Venus or Earth. And all the senshi were their own supposed heads, bearing names for their stars and Asteroids. Are their Senshi for planets? For the star of this solar system? I don’t know if that is good or bad. Maybe it just is. "I'm glad, either way, that there are others out standing against the long dark. "

"Are there many?" He considered, looking off in a thousand yard stare for a moment. "Not on Earth? And ghosts people...why not? According to books my asteroid was named after some German astronomer, but its somehow Thraen just the same. I talked with Zodiac soldier named Aquarius, and she mentioned a thousand years and reincarnation, so maybe that all has something to do with it. "

He gave a quiet nod when she gave a run down of possible fates to occur to someone they didn't know, couldn't find, and ultimately may happen to themselves sometime, "Those are all viable. Don't worry about sounding crazy- it is all crazy. By definition things like what we can do are 'extra'-ordinary. Not ordinary. Unusual. "

"And we've all come from normal life. And try to go one with it one way or another. Do you have team mates? Someone to patrol with or check in with to all know each other is safe?"

"It seems like something that would be more suited to the idea of 'knights' - a cavalry- than floating space bodies that someone power teenagers and may or may not have other space objects gravitationally attached. If space object gravity has any actual bearing on the impulse to team in senshi, I haven't come across any. "

"Tortali..." the tone was one that easily revealed he was not familiar at least on a name basis, but he had a feeling he hadn't met the senshi that Aventine was talking about. He hadn't met many in general, at least from the implied numerous numbers of their orders. Anything that could be counted on two hands or less couldn't be 'many.'

"Do knights receive magic phones to call each other?" It would be nice to be able to find another person he could contact, but right this minute he found his faith in the ease of communication being poor- the magic that governed them all never seemed that convenient. "War is exactly the time that forges trust and friendship more than any other- the crucible of faith that either hardens or shatters what is put into it. Work with your allies as often as possible- to be alone is to be cut down one day or another. "

She admitted flaws freely, and chastised/promised of herself- it was an openness that cracked Thraen's usual severe neutrality to a gentle half smile. It relaxed his own guard and shook his head slowly, admitting of himself something close as well, "No...no team. No teammates. No Partners. A few lifelines- Eternal Athene I met once, and Eternal Maia. Maybe Aquarius and Irene. The cat, *********. I hope, maybe, I am something of a friend to Medea? In the least we've met more than once. "

"Yeah, we get magic phones. You scan each other like a phone-xerox and then you can call or text each other. " The old school description, mundane emails and such, was so risky but so....normal. It was welcome, in a sad way, to hear that the senshi weren't the only ones up to their ears in one brand or another of organizational SNAFU. Using a regular email, though, really was too traceable. And honestly, so were IP addresses. That she straight up was offering to be company and patrol was enough to make his eyes go wide and take words away for a moment. "With me? "

"...I would really like to have someone...I could call on, or be called on by. To patrol with. I'm grade-school recess level at fighting, really, and if we're talking video game terminology than my magic is just a status effect. People fall asleep wizard of oz style. I make flower beds. 'Gardens'...."

"Having a partner sometimes would be great for taking prisoners or knowing what they were doing with their fists. "

He had a throw off email that he'd created for fake signups, promotional mailings and other such things that he'd only ever used at the school public computers, so the IP would trace to the university....

"I have an email I can give you at least, for old school communication. It's a wonder we don't all get fake IDs when we sign up for this stuff."

"I think I would pay money to watch a version of rugby in unforms like we all run around in. " Besides, those shorts would look pretty cute in a scrum.

Thraen jotted down the address in as clear of handwriting as he possessed before handing back the implements. "The primer said knights have magic...and channel it through items? Is that like a weapon? Or do you really get sent into this battle with just fists and a 'godspeed, good luck' ? Do the cats awaken you to your powers?"

The primer didn't have much to say about knights, but maybe that was the fault of it being outdated now? He had no idea when knights appeared in the war, when the war started, or even when the primer was written. Timelines being fuzzy made some conclusions impossible.